Babywearing Voices: Meaghan Pa
Aug 04, 2025
“This isn’t just about soothing. It’s about survival.”
When Meagan Pa became a parent for the first time thirteen years ago, babywearing wasn’t on her radar—it was a last resort. Her newborn son was colicky, inconsolable, and determined not to sleep unless held skin-to-skin. Her arms were exhausted. “I walked the halls with him for hours,” she recalls. “Wearing him was the only thing that worked.”
That moment planted a seed—not just for how she would parent, but for how she would show up in her work. Over the years, babywearing became a quiet constant in her life. Through more children, evolving careers, and even her own product launch, it remained a thread that wove together Meagan’s dual callings: caring for babies, and empowering the people who love them.
From Capitol Hill to Clinical Care
Meagan didn’t start her career in healthcare. In fact, after her first birth, she was working on Capitol Hill. But her birth experience was so transformative that she felt pulled to the world of maternal care. She returned to school, became a nurse, trained as a doula, and later earned her IBCLC certification. She now works in an outpatient pediatric clinic as a lactation consultant, supporting parents through some of the most overwhelming (and beautiful) days of their lives.
And in all of it—she’s been talking about babywearing. “Even before I started Amphiba Baby, I was always the person telling new moms, ‘Look, just mom-to-mom—this is the best thing I ever did.’ It helped me so much, especially with multiple kids.”
Her clinical background deepened that perspective. “As a lactation consultant, I see every day how much close contact supports feeding goals. Not just an hour of skin-to-skin after birth—but all day, consistent holding. Babywearing helps make that realistic.”
When the Water Is Wild
The idea for Amphiba Baby, her water-safe baby carrier brand, came not from a whiteboard but a wild summer day at the pool. Her toddler was throwing himself into the water with no regard for his swimming ability, while her six-month-old daughter wanted nothing to do with the float. “I was by myself. My husband worked nights. I needed to keep my toddler from drowning and soothe my baby at the same time.”
She tried a mesh wrap—but it was too slow to put on when seconds mattered. What she really wanted was a waterproof version of her buckle carrier. So she started tinkering.
It took eight years, multiple prototypes, and a lot of babywearing through every season of motherhood before Amphiba Baby officially launched in May 2022. “At first, I just made it for me. But my friends kept asking where I got it. Eventually, I realized—this is something people really need.”
Though her kids are older now, Meagan still believes in the value of a baby carrier that works in real life. “Every parent has a different routine. Joanna always says people wear carriers like clothes—and I totally agree. Amphiba Baby is one option. I have others I love, too. I just want people to have choices that work for them.”
Foundations for the Future
In 2023, Meagan completed the Foundations in Babywearing Education training through the Center for Babywearing Studies, formalizing years of hands-on knowledge and advocacy. “Foundations helped me fill in the gaps. It gave me language and structure I didn’t even realize I needed—and the confidence to teach more intentionally.”
She’s now looking ahead toward a powerful future: completing her nurse practitioner license, earning her doctorate, and launching research that explores how babywearing and breastfeeding can support medically complex infants, like her youngest son, who has kidney disease. “I wore him until he was nearly five. I want to study how that helped—not just emotionally, but physically.”
Her long-term vision includes creating continuing education courses for healthcare workers and contributing to evidence-based research on babywearing and infant care. “We talk so much in healthcare about things like reflux and colic. We tell parents to hold their baby upright after feeds—but we don’t tell them how to do that while living their lives. Babywearing makes those recommendations actionable.”
Bridging the Gap
Meagan believes that babywearing should be viewed not as a parenting preference, but as a clinical tool. “Especially in lactation work, in NICUs, with complex cases—babywearing supports the very things we’re already telling parents to do. It’s not new advice. It’s how we make the advice doable.”
From soothing reflux to fostering milk supply, from emotional connection to upright feeding support—Meagan has seen firsthand how babywearing fills the gap between best practices and everyday reality.
“I want more providers to see this as something worth teaching. Worth studying. Worth integrating into care.”
And with her depth of experience, passion for research, and drive to support families in every setting, she’s already leading the way.
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Want to read more?
Explore these spotlights from the Babywearing Voices series.
Babywearing Voices: Jordan Morillo
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Babywearing Voices: Eduardo Peralta
Thoughts on presence, partnership, and building community through intentional carrying practices.
Babywearing Voices: Lisa Grisham
Reflecting on bridging cultures, centering caregivers, and how babywearing is personal and political.
